Backfiring debate

Focus on NRA and law-abiding citizens is not helping

In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, it was inevitable Americans would see renewed debate about guns and gun control.

Unfortunately, in spite of widespread acknowledgement that mass shootings are carried out by emotionally disturbed individuals with no regard for the law, the discussion has not focused mostly on mental health, access and storage, although those themes have been explored.

The media and lawmakers have primarily indulged in strident and emotional assaults on the National Rifle Association, with calls for confiscation of weapons from law-abiding citizens and even repeal of the Second Amendment. Vice President Joe Biden has even hinted that President Obama might resort to executive order to achieve additional restrictions on firearms.

Mr. Obama will receive some form of legislation this week, and we’ll reserve judgment until we see what it contains. But the prospects for dramatic new restrictions are dim in both the House and Senate, where most Republicans and many influential Democrats oppose additional restrictions.

Whatever one thinks, believes or feels about the effectiveness of “assault weapon” bans, further restrictions, or interpretations of the Second Amendment, the fact is that, in the days since Newtown, reasoned debate has lost out to the demonization of law-abiding citizens.

Ironically, that has had exactly the opposite effect of what gun-control advocates had hoped: Sales of guns and ammunition have soared, applications for firearm licenses have increased and membership in the NRA has spiked.

Mr. Obama must be careful not to overreach. Doing so will only make the prospects for a safer society more remote.